Until last week, there was not any occasion to put the names of former CIA Director David Petraeus and Geoff Fox in the same sentence.

However, Petraeus's resignation from the country's spy agency and Fox's firing as a meterologist for WTIC Fox CT both have to do with private sexual behavior.

In the case of the four-star general, an affair with his biographer was uncovered in a series of emails accessed by the FBI, while there was a public posting of what Fox thought was private Web-based sex talk with a female photographer outside the workplace.

"These are classic examples of cultural lag. People think these conversations are private, but the whole point of the Internet is to be shared and made public," said Rich Hanley, assistant professor of e-media at Quinnipiac University.

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"The technology is more powerful than we understand in this new world without privacy."

Hanley said, unlike attitudes in Europe, there continues to be a puritanical streak around sexual escapades "that demands that punishment be swift and merciless."

Fox CT in its original statement said it fired the meterologist for "inappropriate conduct," which it did not detail because it was a personnel matter.

In an amended version, it characterized the decision to let him go as "unfortunate and sad," but "necessary. We do appreciate that Geoff has taken the time to publicly apologize to friends and viewers for his behavior. We wish nothing but the best for Geoff and his family moving forward."

The Tribune Co. owns FOX CT and The Hartford Courant.

Geoff Fox, on his blog Sunday, said he was wrong to engage in the graphic sexual conversation, which he assumed was private, and is begging for his job back.

Lewis Maltby, one of the founders of the National Work Rights Institute, said there are only four states, including New York, that protect off-duty behavior from being used to justify firing a worker or from considering a job applicant.

The protected areas include political expression, use of legal products and recreation. Beyond this, Congress has stepped in to protect people based on race, gender and religion.

He said postings on Facebook that are breeched, despite being password protected, can be used against you. Maltby said he has found that the majority of employers, "if they find anything that isn't Ozzie and Harriet, you don't get hired. Nothing is really private anymore," he said.

Elizabeth Marsh, a law professor at Quinnipiac University, said private behavior that doesn't affect someone's professional performance should not be a reason to fire them, although using Facebook puts you in a vulnerable position.

In the case of Petraeus, the country lost his services as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency because of his affair with Paula Broadwell.

Gen. John Allen's promotion from top commander in Afghanistan to head the U.S. European Command is on hold because of his relationship with Tampa socialite Jill Kelley, who set off FBI involvement when she complained about alleged harassing emails from Broadwell.

Because this involves the FBI, possible political motives and is an example of how vulnerable private emails are to government access, technology companies and civil liberty groups are hoping it helps to advance changes to the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which they said is woefully out of date.

Politico also used the military scandal as an occasion to educate the public on how these private communications can be discovered and made public with disastrous outcomes for the participants.

Eugene R. Fidell, who teaches military justice at the Yale Law School, said after some soul searching he is comfortable with Petraeus's resignation.

"It has to do with leadership, setting an example of probity and heading an agency where people can be disciplined for adultry," he said, as well as being an example of "bad judgment."

Beyond this, Fidell said he has several questions about the incident starting with why the FBI pursued it in the first place. "What are the terms of reference for FBI agents probing into people's private lives?" he asked.

Fidell said the government has very powerful security tools for pursuing domestic terrorism and organized crime, which you don't want unleashed without a serious exercise of judgment.

The military expert asked what compelled FBI agent Frederick W. Humphries III to bring the matter to the attention of Washington Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reickert, who notified GOP House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who in turn sent it to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller.

Fidell questioned if the scandal hadn't been politicized.

Fidell said all this technology has enormous potential, but society has to be careful of paying "extraordinary costs" for the benefits it can bring.

Chris Calabrese, legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the scandal shows that "the standard for the government reading your emails is lower than you think."

The ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation want the Electronic Communications Privacy Act updated to require access to all emails after a warrant has been signed, something that now applies only to emails up to 180-days, or six months old.

Hanni Fakhoury of the foundation, said it objects to proposals that would continue to exempt state and administrative agencies from getting warrants.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he is in favor of removing the 180-day rule. "It eliminates an arbitrary and artificial distinction," he said.

It also pointed out that the sender's physical location can be determined from the email; storing a message in a draft folder can be accessed without a warrant; and chatting "off record," meaning it is not saved in either person's account, can still be preserved by Google.

Google said the government wanted information on 16,281 accounts and it complied 90 percent of the time.